General Background

The first flight of the Hawker Fury I took place in March 1931. Because of the Great Depression and the high cost of the Fury only 118 were produced for the RAF. It was the first RAF operational aircraft to exceed 200 mph in level flight. In May 1931 No. 43 Squadron was the first to receive the new aircraft. Starting in 1936 five RAF squadrons received the new improved Fury II. Seven foreign air forces ordered the Fury II. In 1939 the RAF Furys were replaced by Gladiators and Hurricanes.

The Aircraft

In September 1936 seven Furys numbered 200 – 206 were delivered to the South African Air Force. May 1940 1 SAAF Squadron moved to East Africa with six Furys. The SAAF aircraft mostly fought Italian Ca.133 bombers and Fiat CR.32s. September 30, 1940 2 SAAF Squadron was formed using Furys, Gladiators and Hurricanes. From now on Fury’s were mainly used to supplement SAAF Hawker Hartebeests. On 5 October, Lieutenant D. C. Uys of 2 SAAF Squadron stalled ‘206’ and crashed. He was badly burnt and the